This method relates to embroidery and more particularly to a method for performing hardanger embroidery with a sewing machine, which yields hardanger embroidery that looks like fine hardanger embroidery, performed by hand.
Traditional hardanger can be accomplished by hand stitching. Hand stitched hardanger embroidery involves stitching with needle and thread either parallel to the warp and weft of the fabric or at angles that follow the pores of the fabric. Hand stitched hardanger utilizes even weave fabrics with defined thread counts on the order of eighteen to thirty-two threads per inch, which are relatively coarse, loosely woven materials. The width of satin and other long finishing stitches in hand-sewn hardanger are inversely proportional to the thread count of the fabric used, such that higher thread counts fabrics yield hardanger stitches of shorter widths and, hence, produce smaller scaled embroidery designs. Fabric threads are counted with each stitch to create uniformity within the individual hardanger designs and symmetry with the whole hardanger design.
Hand-sewn hardanger employs a method of selective fabric removal in which sections of fabric are framed with kloster blocks, then selective threads are removed from the fabric framed by the same kloster blocks. The remaining bar or loose threads within the framed section of fabric create a lattice of intersecting threads with square voids in the fabric. These bar threads are then hand wrapped or woven with embroidery thread. Later, the sections of the hardanger design that comprise the fabric voids may be embellished with lace fill stitches for a decorative finish.
Additionally, hand-sewn hardanger employs a drawn thread method of creating eyelets in the fabric in which a square framed pattern of radial stitches are sewn and drawn tight to separate the threads of the fabric in order to create the eyelet hole.
Such hand stitching is very time consuming, often taking many days for each design. Thus, clothing and other fabric apparel containing hand stitched hardanger embroidery can be very time consuming to make and costly to buy. Additionally, the need to use low thread count even weave fabrics limits the scope of products on which hand stitched hardanger embroidery can be applied.
As a consequence people have tried to duplicate hand stitched hardanger embroidery using a sewing machine. Unfortunately, unlike manual stitching, a sewing machine cannot accurately place stitches based on fabric weave and pore position. Nor can a sewing machine dynamically alter the upper and lower thread tensions to achieve the pulled thread effect. Additionally, without the application of appropriate underlay stitches to most, if not all, of the satin and other long finishing stitches used in hardanger embroidery the fabric would tunnel when stitched with a sewing machine.
Thus, a need exist for a method for performing hardanger embroidery using a sewing machine that is equal to or better in appearance to hand stitched hardanger embroidery and yet can be performed in much less time and with a broader selection of fabrics and threads.
In prior art, two methods used to perform hardanger embroidery with an embroidery sewing machine reproduces long satin stitch patterns, but offers no solution for tunneling of fabric underneath said long satin stitches, nor do said methods address cutwork aspects or eyelet construction of traditional hand-sewn hardanger. The results produce kloster blocks and long satin stitch motifs in which fabric tunnels underneath stitching, regardless of fabric chosen. The overall result is undesirable and inferior to hand-sewn hardanger embroidery. Another method used to perform hardanger embroidery with an embroidery sewing machine addresses cutwork aspects and eyelet construction of hardanger embroidery. However, the method fails to properly address underlay stitch construction necessary for providing consistently stable and uniform satin stitches. The recreation of kloster blocks in outlining cut work sections of the hardanger embroidery proves inadequate, producing fabric tunneling beneath and excessive fraying of the cut fabric edges. Finally, eyelet construction fails to address a need for greater thread tension for results reminiscent of hand-sewn hardanger embroidery. The overall result is undesirable and inferior to hand-sewn hardanger embroidery.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,530,665 issued to Colonel on Jul. 23, 1985 teaches a method and an apparatus for embroidery, which uses a removable material. It does not use a sewing machine. U.S. Pat. No. 889,614 issued to Johnson on Jun. 2, 1908 teaches a method and an apparatus using a removable backing as an intermediate step in applying the embroidery, but the backing is removed prior to completing the embroidery. U.S. Pat. No. 823,421 issued to Loeb on Jun. 12, 1906, teaches a method and apparatus for stitching a decorative open thread work on fabric, but the cut fabric edges are finished by turning under the cut edge of the fabric and stitching in place. Said method does not use a conventional sewing machine. U.S. Pat. No. 1,203,561 issued to Aaron on Nov. 7, 1916 teaches a method of finishing the cut fabric edges by adding a folded binding. U.S. Pat. No. 924,795 issued to Klemm and Rorarius on Jun. 15, 1909, teaches a method of embossing an embroidery design by adding a backing fabric and padding materials. This method does not use a sewing machine. U.S. Pat. No. 4,870,999 issued to Dennis on Oct. 3, 1989, teaches a method of selectively removing threads from an even weave fabric and replacing them by weaving ribbon or yarn through remaining fabric threads. This method does not use a sewing machine. U.S. Pat. No. 385,772 issued to Owen on Jul. 10, 1888, teaches a method for removing selective threads from the fabric and creating a decorative, open pattern in the fabric. However, the threads must be removed by hand, singly. U.S. Pat. No. 5,111,760 issued to Garzone, May 12, 1992, teaches a method for creating lace on a soluble background using a method of double-embroidered lace in which each layer of lace is comprised of different types of thread, but is not like the present invention.
None of the prior art is like the present invention, which enables one to produce a hardanger embroidery effect that simulates or is even better than hand stitched hardanger embroidery.
The present invention provides such a method, which reduces substantially the time to produce a hardanger embroidery design, while greatly expanding the range of fabrics and threads that can be used to do so. For instance, a design that might take eight hours by hand stitching on a low thread count, open weave fabric, would take less than fifteen minutes, using a much wider variety of fabrics and threads, using the method taught by the present invention.